LITMIR.BIZ

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in all seriousness,” I said, “I think she has enough disdain for Ally to do something. I didn’t see anyone there that day to push her.”

      “So you didn’t see Krystal push her?” he asked.

      I frowned, thinking of Ally’s memory right before I’d woken up in the hospital. She had felt a push. I didn’t know how to bring that up with Cooper. I didn’t want to ruin the surprise he’d planned. “Not exactly. But Krystal has the motivation. Maybe, instead of possessing her, the Shadowed influenced her, just as you said you influenced Ally for good?”

      Cooper rubbed a hand over his face. “It’s completely possible but, in the grand scheme of things, if Krystal helped the Shadowed it was against her will and she probably wouldn’t remember why she did it.”

      “But if one of them approached her? Maybe she could tell us what he or she looked like and we’d have a better lead.”

      A slow smile spread over Cooper’s face. “Quite a detective, aren’t we?”

      I smiled, shaking my head. “Ally deserves more than this. I’m just trying to help.”

      “I’m impressed,” he said. “Now I’m a little surprised you were passed over for the Guard position.”

      I groaned. “And that’s what I told Felix. He says I don’t have the feelings for it, but I think I’ve just been away from humans so long, at least in terms of understanding how they operate.” I lifted Ally’s arms up. “I hate to admit it, but I’ll be upset if we don’t find her.”

      “I’ll be upset too,” he admitted.

      A pang of jealousy pressed against Ally’s chest.

      Of course he’d be upset, my rational side thought. It’s his job to protect her.

      But that other side snuck in too. She’s everything anyone would want; he’d always pick her over you.

      A blurriness edged my vision and I stopped walking. One of Ally’s memories had emerged before me, then another. A young Ally projected in front of me, almost superimposed over my reality. I followed her path across the graveyard.

      “Maggie,” Cooper said, keeping pace with me, “where are you going?”

      I ignored him. Ally’s breaths were short and quick as my pace hastened toward my goal. Ally’s body buzzed like the feeling of a True Soul before taking its counterpart.

      I quickly veered down a long row of stones; little Ally picked up her pace. I matched her footfalls until we reached our destination. Memory Ally dropped to her knees in front of one of the stones then her form disappeared.

      A stone angel loomed over me as I dropped to Ally’s knees, placing the flowers on the ground. I reached for the stone and the inscription with Ally’s fingertips.

      “Kimberly Greene,” I read. “Beloved mother and wife.”

      “That’s Ally’s mom. She died of cancer when Ally was five,” Cooper said.

      Ally barely had a father and no mother. No wonder she partied hard with her friends and demanded the respect of her classmates; she hardly had any attention at home.

      “How did you know to come here?” Cooper asked.

      I stared at the grave, my body still. “I liked the stone,” I said, standing up. “I’ve always liked this stone.” We both looked up at the hauntingly beautiful angel with her wings outstretched as if she protected the graves under her.

      “Something has always bugged me but I never thought to ask,” I said, changing the subject.

      “What’s that?”

      “Hear me out.” I picked up one bouquet of flowers and unwrapped them from the plastic. I thought of Irene and how she had looked at me before her death. “Are we, Collectors, I mean, are we what humans think of as angels?”

      “You’re no angel,” he said.

      I rolled my eyes.

      “Kidding!” One side of his mouth quirked up. “Collectors are not angels… well, the angels that humans believe in.”

      “Let me guess,” I said, gently placing the flowers at the base of Kimberly’s stone. “The Guard are.”

      “Well, yes,” he said. “Since the purpose of the Guard is to lead a human on the right path, it’s only fitting. Plus religion has a lot to do with it. Mostly they are a way to explain that there is something beyond human comprehension.”

      “What’s with the wings, though? I’ve never seen a Guard with wings.”

      Cooper smirked. “I guess it’s their way of making sense of the fact that we can be anywhere.”

      Lucky you, I thought.

      I stood up, studying the nearby stones. The people seemed unrelated but equally un-flowered. I opened another bouquet, placing flowers at each of the stones. A bit further down, a strong sensation built inside of me and I stopped in front of a stone, Ally’s hand holding the flowers in mid-air.

      Its inscription read: “M. Thomas. July 28, 1888 – September 6, 1905.”

      The age of the person struck a chord deep within me. He or she had died at seventeen. The same age I was when I died and the same age Ally’s body was at that moment. If Ally were to die at seventeen would she have lived a fulfilling life? Did I?

      Thunder rumbled in the distance. I looked up at the darkening sky.

      “We should head home,” Cooper said, gathering the plastic wrapping from the ground.

      “Sure.” I placed the final bouquet in front of the stone next to Kimberly’s, looked up at the name and froze.

      “Gemma Packard. September 19, 1889 – September 6, 1905.”

      In my dream, Jackson had mentioned a Gemma. It must have been a coincidence. It had to be. All souls lost their memories at Gate Seven. Right?

      “Maggie,” Cooper called.

      I looked at him. “Yeah?”

      “Are you okay? We should get going.”

      I shook my head and thoughts of the dream away. I followed Cooper’s lead toward the car, but not before stealing one last look at the stone of, possibly, my human sister.

       Chapter Thirteen

      The drive home wasn’t as bad as the drive out. I was no expert but I could manage in a binding situation, yet I secretly hoped I’d never have to do it again.

      Cooper didn’t say much, allowing me to concentrate on the road. But my thoughts wandered back to the cemetery. Had the name been a coincidence from the dream? Since Ally’s mother’s grave was near Gemma’s stone, Ally had to have seen it before. And since we were sharing memories—well, not exactly sharing; it was definitely one-sided—maybe the name came into the dream from a residual memory? The longer I kept the secret from Cooper about Ally’s memories, the harder it became to tell him. We’d had a lovely day together; I didn’t want to ruin that. Maybe they’d find Ally tonight and we could joke about it tomorrow.

      Will he even want to know you when this is all over? I winced at the thought.

      The rain started as we drove through the entrance to the Greene estate. It pounded the windshield, but I navigated the car into the garage around the back before I panicked too much. I put the car in park and sat back in the seat.

      “Perfect,” Cooper said.

      “Well, thank you.” I grinned, opening the door. Ally’s knees gave out from under me as a huge weight slammed into her body, stealing away her breath.

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